we won by 11



we are a team imo that is in transition, yes youre still a better side overall and are much more consistant but the way we have been written off by alot of the wigan fans all week its nice to prove to the rest of SL we are not done yet

It's not just wrong in terms of titles to to say "that" side has been in decline since 2005 - its patently NOT the same side.

We have 5 players who were in the team then. OTOH Mathers, Calderwood, Walker, Senior, Bai, Ward, McDermott, Diskin, Dunemann, McKenna, Lauti'iti, and Poching were all regulars in both 2004 and 2005, with Ellis was added to that list in 2005. Unless I'm mistaken I don't see any of those players in our current squad (most have been gone for more than a few years), so I'm not sure where you get the idea that the 2004/05 side has somehow declined at all.

If we are talking about the this being a golden era in the club's history then you cannot ignore 2004. My point is the standard of rugby being played now is world away from the quality offered in 2004/05 and yet the team is still able to win the GF - what does that say about SL in general

I am confused Sal. You proclaimed the rugby we played in 2008 under McLennan to be far better than anything we played under Smith.

I certainly don't think it is the case that big games are a lower standard than 2004/05. The Leeds-Wire game in the Play Offs last year was a genuinely high quality match played at a very high speed - one of the very best SL games I've seen, and I'm not at all sure the far less experienced 2004 side could have won it. Last year's GF compares very favourably as a match to 2009 and 2008, was probably a bit better than 2007 and was a better quality game than either 2004 or 2005 GFs in my view as well.

Sal is also completely wrong to suggest that the remainder of the competition was much stronger in 2004 and 2005. It was exactly the opposite.

It was a much weaker division. Here's an extract of Leeds results over a few months in 2005.

Fri 11 Feb SL Hull FC 12 - 16 Leeds Rhinos KC Stadium
Fri 18 Feb SL Leeds Rhinos 30 - 18 St Helens Headingley Carnegie
Sun 27 Feb SL Leeds Rhinos 66 - 8 Widnes Vikings Headingley Carnegie
Sun 6 Mar SL Huddersfield Giants 10 - 54 Leeds Rhinos Galpharm Stadium
Fri 11 Mar SL Leeds Rhinos 38 - 6 Warrington Wolves Headingley Carnegie
Fri 18 Mar SL Salford City Reds 12 - 30 Leeds Rhinos The Willows
Thu 24 Mar SL Bradford Bulls 12 - 42 Leeds Rhinos Grattan Stadium
Mon 28 Mar SL Leeds Rhinos 28 - 44 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Headingley Carnegie
Sat 2 Apr CC-R4 Leeds Rhinos 26 - 22 Warrington Wolves Headingley Carnegie
Sat 9 Apr SL Leeds Rhinos 64 - 6 London Broncos Headingley Carnegie
Fri 15 Apr SL Wigan Warriors 14 - 38 Leeds Rhinos JJB Stadium
Sat 23 Apr SL Widnes Vikings 20 - 42 Leeds Rhinos
Fri 29 Apr SL Leeds Rhinos 44 - 14 Huddersfield Giants Headingley Carnegie
Fri 6 May CC-R5 Leeds Rhinos 70 - 0 Pia Donkeys Headingley Carnegie
Fri 13 May SL Leigh Centurions 4 - 60 Leeds Rhinos TBA
Fri 20 May SL Leeds Rhinos 42 - 24 Leigh Centurions Headingley Carnegie

Huddersfield, St Helens, Wigan amd Warrington are a million times more competitive now than they were then, as are many other clubs. If the 2004 squad featuring Chris Feather, Wayne McDonald, Matt Adamson, Richie Mathers and Mark calderwood had to face the current Warrington side in a playoff like last year's they would lose by 40 points, with no disrespect to that great 2004 side.

In reality Sal is looking for a league that we can walk through and isn't happy if we can't and then will only be happy if certain players are not shinning too brightly casting a shadow over his beloved Danny.